That's at least 10-12 pups that won't be born (probably more for such a huge fish). Big makos taste like poop anyway.

cut it loose. take plenty of pictures and go for the release certificate. as others have said a big breeder female like that needs to be released.

So what was the point of killing it? They aren't good ot eat...they certainly were not going to mount it...This is what gives sport fishermen a bad name...we waste destroy our resources and then wonder why there is such a backlash against fishing and hunting...I am a big proponent of you eat what you catch and kill...otherwise find another outlet for your blood lust...

definitely release, any trophy fish deserves it

I would have let her go. Just the experience & the memory of such a catch is more than enough.

RELEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm kind of old school in the fact that I love to eat my catch. Obviously catching and killing any fish for nothing more than a photo opp is wasteful. I'm kind of on the fence about this one. The size alone would provide more than anyone could eat in a year. I love Mako steaks and if this fish was divided among crew and/or donated to a food kitchen I have no problem with not releasing. There are so few once in a lifetime moments like this that I don't think it would decimate the population to keep it. I feel that fishing solely for the sport of it (catch and release) serves only to pump up the ego and without actually eating some of the catch it seems unnecessary to chance killing countless fish just for the thrill of it. Maybe somewhere in between would be a good balance. The all catch and release martyrs kind of make my stomach turn.

That was one of the most beautiful paragraph I've ever read on these comment threads.. well said, JETurner64... For me, I tend to lean toward catch & release. As others have alluded to, I think more info is needed here to make any sort of real judgement on these fishermen. That being said, the Mako population/consumption worldwide is quite hard to keep tabs on and regulate, so I think with that in mind these guys maybe should've let this one go. Still love me a good fresh fillet...

Such a rare specimen should always be released. Our oceans are becoming a sea of jellyfish due to the loss of such apex predators.

"A monster of the sea was killed" - seems like a primitive description of a necessary animal involved in a delicate aquatic ecosystem.
Eat what you catch and what you kill; no one has the right to destroy an animal for pleasure.

There's surprisingly very little primary literature about mako shark interactions with recreational fisheries, but one study saw 472 makos caught recreationally from 1981-2002 along the entire east coast. In the same region, 1653 makos were caught on pelagic longlines in an 8 year period. To boot, this is comparatively low to rates of mako shark bycatch in other longline fisheries. Which would you say is making a more significant dent on pelagic shark populations? Surely not recreational fishermen. It's sad that a splendid shark died being caught recreationally, but I'm not sure this is a big issue. Thoughts?

A quote from the Marina Del Rey landing says it all... "We haven't seen sharks like that around here for a couple years,"

Gee, no kidding, I wonder why.

Yes, the quote from the Marina Del Rey landing DOES SAY IT ALL: "We haven't seen sharks like that around here for a couple years,"....Hmmmmm....could this be that recreational fisherman like CRAIG might be so disconnected to the state of our oceans that he would want to kill this beautiful animal so that he can mount it above his fireplace? This is a prime example of profound human narcissism and our lack of connection with life beyond our own species. Very sad.

If it took 8 men to pull that 900lb shark out of the water, they should have had Troy Landry 'choot 'em' and roll that sucker into the boat.

I didn't read where it said it was a female.

I'd eat it.